Danish director and provocateur Lars von Trier waded into new controversy at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, as he unveiled his new film Melancholia.

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But his remarks at the press conference after the film's screening were met with embarrassed shrugs by the press.

"For a long time I thought I was a Jew and I was happy to be a Jew. Then I met (Danish and Jewish director) Susanne Bier and I wasn't so happy," von Trier began, with a cherubic smile.

"But then I found out I was actually a Nazi. My family were German. And that also gave me some pleasure. What can I say? I understand Hitler. I think he did some wrong things, yes absolutely, but I can see him sitting in his bunker in the end. I sympathize with him a bit."

Von Trier continued: "I'm not against Jews, not even Susanne Bier…In fact I'm very much in favour of them. All Jews. Well, Israel is a pain in the ass, but…"

He then joked that his next movie could be titled The Final Solution or be a porn film "with lots of uncomfortable sex."

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Later on Wednesday, festival organizers issued a statement saying they were "disturbed" by von Trier's statements and had demanded an explanation.

Von Trier then apologized for his remarks, saying he had "let himself be egged on by a provocation."

"I am not anti-Semitic or racially prejudiced in any way, nor am I a Nazi," he said.